Secret of Mana, Review

[xtremedragoon]

Secret of Mana, made by Squaresoft for SNES in 1993
Rating 9/10

I don’t often buy a game, take it home and instantly love it. This was an exception. At my local book/gamestore I picked this up for $12, hearing that it was good (however I had it confused with Secret of Evermore in my mind, which I hope to own someday.) Well after hearing the opening tune and reading the story I was hooked. The game in short is original, thrilling to play, beautiful and ultimately a well-rounded good experience.

Graphics 10/10: I glanced at what system I was playing to make sure it was Super Nes, because it’s just that intense. Very well designed, with lots of special effects too. Square always does graphics right!

Sound 7.5/10: Like a lot of games, there is a wide spectrum in the quality of songs and sounds. I think there could have been a little improvement here, but really everything fits good, even if some tunes can get a little annoying when you spend 2 hours or so in the garishly cheerful Dwarven Cave Town song.

Gameplay/Control 9/10: Incredible. Control up to 3 characters all at the same time!!! Live and intense action here folks, and it hardly ever gets old, because of the great battle action. Moving is very fast in this game, and all non-battle controls feel fine.

Story/World’s Interestingness 9/10: Barely anything disappoints here. Quite original, and the unusual world is very appeasing to me somehow. It’s strange and charming a lot of the time, as you stroll past The furry Cat-merchant’s house and field of pink and yellow flowers. I hate spoiled surprises, so I won’t give out hardly anything about the story. I will just say that some of the names and concepts they used seem to be a little reused, like calling the big bad force the “Empire”. But they are few in number.

Overall: My price guide values this game at $120. I don’t doubt it, it’s good enough for some people to spend that much money (key word= some. Xtremedragoon=cheapo.) If you like rpgs and find this game for a good price, then buy it. Just do it. If you like Action Games such as Legend of Zelda, and find it for a good price, then buy it. Just do it. If you have never had the experience of an RPG and you…..Just do it. Well I don’t know if I will get out of my addiction to this before I beat it or not, but I sure know it is an instant classic to me. FEEL THE MANA READER!!!!! FEEL IT AND WATCH IT GROOOOOOOWWWWW!!!


Feel free to comment, and no I’m not insane.
Xtremedragoon

[Vyse the determined]

Except for the intro sentence where you said "by" instead of "buy" (a common typographical error), everything seems in order. I like Secret of Mana, but I can't bring myself to love the game. I'm pretty sure this comment seems like blasphemy to most reading it, but that's how I feel. I think Secret of Evermore (despite it being 1 player) is more atmospheric, the dialogue is better written (less text errors) with more story direction, and more well rounded. Secret of Mana had a habit of feeling very vague and I couldn't find myself getting attached to any of the characters because I felt you just didn't know enough about them. However, I do love the music and the environments.

I'm no english major nor do I try to pass myself off as one. I only write well enough to get my point across.

[xtremedragoon]

Secret of Evermore looks awesome, and i will seek it down as soon as i beat Mana. Going around world's with your dog just seems like a pretty cool concept, and the title is killer. I have some interesting stuff to say about character connection, so I think i will post a thread before long. Glad you pointed that out! I will fix it right away. So yeah...if you want to post that on the Gaming Sanctuary, feel free to do so.

[Vyse the determined]

I could probably use your review, however, I'd have to make minor modifications like I did with some other reviews I have gotten. I'd remove the numerical scores just so the reviews are more consistent to the site design. I'm targeting more obscure games, so it may be a while before I get around to doing it. I'm currently in the middle of a ridiculous update and I'm trying to make it under two weeks so I'm pushing on that deadline.

I'll grab images for the game at some point and do something like I did with Super Mario World 1 and 2. While they aren't obscure, I had a particular demand for those reviews, so I had them done. I also need to get around to doing a "Pocket King" (Game Boy/ Game Boy Color) review as someone is trying to preserve that game all by themself...among other things.

[Bel Cain The Eternal]

I hope xtremedragoon is well...haven't heard from him in a while.

[tougherthanyou]

Great to be on the board! Vyse, you may know me from the Gamefaqs boards. I spend a good amount of my time in the SNES section.

Love Secret of Mana. Used to play it with my sister all the time (one of my favorite memories from childhood). I haven't played in a while but I remember the game play was fun and challenging, with the last area being extremely difficult. I enjoyed the soundtrack as well (you make a great point about the Dwarf caves though) especially later in the game after the sunken palace has risen.

I didn't enjoy Secret of Evermore nearly as much, although I will admit to never having played it all the way through. I have tried 4 or 5 times to get into that game and I just can't do it (and the fake movie references just don't do it for me at all).

SoM remains one of my all time favorites and is truly a one of a kind game.

[Vyse the determined]

tougherthanyou said:

Great to be on the board! Vyse, you may know me from the Gamefaqs boards. I spend a good amount of my time in the SNES section.

Of course I remember you! You're one of the regular vets on the board, though things have slowed down considerably, so I spend more time working on the site than hanging on the forums these days. Welcome and great to have you around! ;D

I'm currently in the process of expanding forum applications and revising articles. SoM is one of the many SNES articles that needs a clean-up job (not so much in terms of rhetoric, but a general expansion like the modern artilces).